


A Promise Among Friends

by KaylaRachille



Series: Asher & Vanessa Friendship Stories [1]
Category: All American (TV)
Genre: Apologies, Developing Friendships, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Making Up, Male-Female Friendship, Studying, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29761470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaylaRachille/pseuds/KaylaRachille
Summary: Set after Season Three Episode Six'Teenage Love':Asher is now trying to handle things on his own and Vanessa is there to assure him that he is more than capable of doing that.Snippet from Story:“Hey, Asher.” A familiar voice calls from behind him that pulls him from his own thoughts.“Oh, hey Vanessa. Your mom is still on the field if you're looking for her.” He says after he turns around briefly making eye contact with her before he sends his gaze back out to the pouring rain.“Yeah, I know I just talked to her.” Vanessa tells him following his gaze out toward the parking lot.“And JJ is still in the shower.” He explains nodding toward the locker room door.“I figured as much.” She says briefly catching his eyes before he avoids her gaze again.“Okay. Well, I should get going since I've got a lot of homework.” He explains nodding in the direction of his car that is parked in a row by itself far away from his friends and other teammates’ cars.(Contains Spoilers)
Relationships: Asher Adams & Vanessa Montes
Series: Asher & Vanessa Friendship Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2204163
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	A Promise Among Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, y'all! 😀
> 
> I am very excited to back with another story and I hope that my new story finds you all doing well! 
> 
> So, this is my first time writing an Asher and Vanessa story, so I hope did them justice since we don't know exactly what they connected over the summer about. I don't necessarily ship them as a couple just yet, but it does seem like the storyline could be headed in that direction. (I'm not opposed to the idea as long as they don't rush things between them and they are able to build a strong foundation for their relationship.) And I strongly feel that Asher needs to stay single for a while so that he can work on himself. But I also feel that Vanessa does really have Asher's best interest at heart. 
> 
> Please enjoy it! <3
> 
> P.S. I would love to know what your guys' thoughts are on the whole Asher and Vanessa dynamic.
> 
> P.S.S. This story hasn't been heavily edited since my internet is not working today but when it comes back on I will edit it better! 😊

A drizzling light rain had fell on the football players as they walked off the muddy field after a long practice with mud caked onto their cleats and splashed onto their pants and jerseys in an abstract pattern of dots as he opens the locker room door which just a few weeks ago he thought he had walked out of for the last time Asher’s lips turn down in a deeper frown as he notices that now the light drizzle has turned into a heavy drumming rain that is pooling into quickly growing puddles in the student parking lot. 

_I hate driving in the rain…_

_I don't want to do all my homework…_

_I should have tried harder at practice and maybe coach wouldn't have yelled at me so much…_

_Football season is almost over now, and I haven't received the first damn look from a scout…_

“Hey, Asher.” A familiar voice calls from behind him that pulls him from his own thoughts. 

“Oh, hey Vanessa. Your mom is still on the field if you're looking for her.” He says after he turns around briefly making eye contact with her before he sends his gaze back out to the pouring rain. 

“Yeah, I know I just talked to her.” Vanessa tells him following his gaze out toward the parking lot.

“And JJ is still in the shower.” He explains nodding toward the locker room door. 

“I figured as much.” She says briefly catching his eyes before he avoids her gaze again.

“Okay. Well, I should get going since I've got a lot of homework.” He explains nodding in the direction of his car that is parked in a row by itself far away from his friends and other teammates’ cars. 

“Right.” She agrees adjusting the strap of her backpack up on her shoulder from where it slipped down her arm as she watches him step closer to the sidewalk. “Asher wait just a sec.” She calls after him before she can stop herself halting his steps just inches away from the cover of the roof before he steps out into the cold rain.

“Yeah?” He asks turning around with a tired look crossing over his face as he wants nothing more than to go home and lock himself away in his bedroom so that he can crash. 

“I was thinking maybe we could do our homework together if you wanted so that we could talk.” She explains biting on her bottom lip as she waits for his response. 

“I don't know…” He hesitates as the duffel bag strap shoulder feels like a crushing weight to his shoulder blade that is still sore from a hit he took at practice. 

“Are you mad at me?” She asks nervously tucking a piece of her long brown hair behind her ear. 

“What? No, I'm not mad at you.” He assures her taking a hesitant step forward. 

“Then what is it?” She questions his words not bringing her as much relief as she had hoped. 

“I'm just trying to handle things on my own for right now.” He explains letting out a long and tired sigh. 

“So, we can't do we homework together? I mean that physics homework is still seeming like a foreign language to me.” She wonders with a half-smile playing across her lips as she watches his face intently as she tries to gauge his reaction. 

“I guess we can talk physics over some pizza.” He finally decides since he doesn’t really want to go home and deal with the problems that await him there even though he is drained from practice. 

“Good. Because you're buying.” She tells him with a playful smile as she brushes past him before she waits for him to follow her out into the rain. 

“Oh, am I?” He asks allowing himself to return her smile as he steps alongside her. 

“Yep.” She says taking in a deep breath as they watch the rain continue to fall. “I’ll race you to your car.” She challenges after she scoped out his car in the parking lot. 

“You’re going to lose Montes.” He tells her with a light laugh as he shakes his head. 

“You’ll have to catch me first Adams.” She shouts over the loud rain before she starts to run across the pavement splashing in the ankle-deep puddles as she does. 

“What the hell?” He asks in slight disbelief before he chases after her. 

“Open the car door.” She pleads when she makes it to the passenger side door finding it locked as she looks back over her shoulder through the blinding rain at his quickly approaching blurry figure. 

At hearing the car door unlock she hurriedly climbs in brushing her hair off her face that stuck to her skin after it got soaked from their race in the rain. 

“I let you win that time.” Asher exclaims after he gets in the car after throwing his duffel bag into the backseat. 

“Oh, did you now?” Vanessa asks watching as he sweeps his soaked bangs out of his eyes before he starts the car. 

“Yeah, I did. But we’ll just have to a rematch sometime.” He tells her with a smirk. 

“Totally.” She agrees before following his lead as they click on their seatbelts in unison. 

The drive to the pizza restaurant is filled with easy conversation about topics about anything other than what happened last weekend at the cabin.

As Asher pulls into the restaurant parking lot the rain has thankfully stopped for now they walk side by side into the restaurant thankful to find no familiar cars in the parking lot. 

“Where do you want to sit? Booth or table?” Asher asks as he scans his eyes over the selection of empty tables. 

“How about a booth.” Vanessa suggests with a slight shrug as she follows him toward the back of the restaurant. 

“Fine by me.” He agrees before sliding into the seat across from her as they sit their backpacks down beside them on the seats.

“So, if I remember right you like pepperoni with extra banana peppers. Right?” He wonders after glancing at the menu that was already on the table resting in between the two shakers filled with parmesan and paprika. 

“You remembered correctly.” She tells him with a nod as they both turn their attention to the friendly waitress who walks up to their table to take their order. 

“How are things between you and JJ?” He inquiries after the waitress disappears after writing down their order. 

“We’re still just friends.” She explains brushing her long hair over her shoulder that is still a little damp.

“Oh.” He says not really sure how he feels about that since he can’t help but think he is the reason they are just friends and not a couple. 

“He told me about his plan about asking me to be his girlfriend at the cabin but I’m just not ready for a relationship right now.” She explains after seeing the guilty look that crosses across his face. 

“I’m sorry if him finding out about the connection we made over the summer made things weird between you both.” He apologizes hating how their friendship has caused so many problems in both of their relationships. 

“No apology needed because I should have been clearer with him from the start that I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend but just a friend.” She exclaims remembering how freeing it did feel for her not to have to pretend to like JJ anymore and to be finally be truthful with him even though she knew it disappointed him. “I’ve been learning a lot about my honesty myself lately.” He admits with the words he shouted at Olivia during their breakup ringing in his ears. 

_“I’m not some mess up that needs someone to fix my problems for me all the time.”_

But that wasn’t exactly the truth because that is exactly what he had been for an entire year and how he leaned heavily on Olivia to make his life better when he should have been the one to get his shit together long before he let her so selflessly fix his problems for him. 

But deep down that is how he felt about himself for so long that he was just some mess up that need saving all the time even when he didn’t deserve it. 

“I'm sorry about you and Olivia.” It’s her turn to apologize for the destruction of their relationship that she wonders if it would have lasted if she hadn’t showed up in Beverly claiming to know Asher better than his own girlfriend did. 

“It's not your fault.” He assures her shaking his head in disagreement at her apology. 

“I mean things got pretty heated at the cabin and I can't help but to think that I'm the reason why you and her broke up.” She explains remembering how she so willingly and deliberately rubbed it in Olivia’s face that she knew details about Asher’s life that she didn’t even know about. 

“Things did get heated but it's not your fault that she and I broke up.” He tells her not wanting her to feel guilty at all for his relationship that he blew apart all on his own. “It was my fault that we broke up and my fault alone.” He states when he notices how she opens her mouth to refute his words with an edge finding its way into his voice that is only directed at himself for his own ignorance. 

Their conversation is cut short before she can respond when the waitress approaches the table again this time carrying their pizza that is half pepperoni with extra banana peppers and the other half is sausage with extra onions. 

Half her favorite.

And half his favorite. 

A compromise among two friends. 

“So, how are you doing after everything?” Vanessa questions after they both have eaten a slice of pizza. 

“I’m fine.” Asher answers too quickly for it to be even close to the truth. 

“Is that always your answer when someone asks you that?” She observes watching him as he lets out a long breath before he responds. 

“I really am fine. I've just been keeping busy with football practice and homework.” He explains hoping that she’ll just drop it but he knows her better than that. 

“So, you've not been actually dealing with it then.” She guesses keeping her tone measured as she doesn’t want to sound like she is making an accusation rather than just an observation. 

“What am I supposed to do Vanessa? I mean I'm the fuck up that fucked everything up between us.” He exclaims feeling nothing but anger at himself for how he treated Olivia when she was only doing what she does best and that was helping her friend.

But hindsight was _always_ 20/20. 

“Asher don't say that.” She tells him fighting the urge to grab his hand that is resting on the table like she did over the summer.

But this isn't anything like the summer.

Not even close.

“It's true. And the more you get to know me the more you'll see it too.” He tells her not understanding how the hell she hasn't seen him for what he truly is.

A fuck up that is unfixable.

“But the guy I knew this summer…” She starts to say holding onto her last bit of hope that she can get through to him before he cuts her off sharply.

“He doesn't exist.” He exclaims through gritted teeth.

“Yes, he does.” She states with a determined nod no longer fighting with herself as she reaches across the table to grab onto his hand. “You know I was thinking that it was your friends who you were putting on a show for. But I see that it’s yourself you’re putting the show on for.” She explains thankful that he doesn't pull out of her grasp even though she feels his muscles tense up under her touch.

“You don’t me know like you think.” He says in a low tone before looking down at her hand that is covering his own.

“Then tell me about you.” She suggests sending him a soft smile.

“I’m not a good person. I’ve made mistake after _damn_ mistake.” He tells her knowing that it is just a matter of time before he makes his next mistake to add to his growing list.

“And from what I can tell you’re doing your best to make up for those mistakes.” She exclaims holding his gaze when he lifts his head back up.

“You don't know what I've done though.” He tells her exhaling a long tired breath as he rakes his free hand through his hair.

“It doesn't matter because you're doing better now.” She says giving his hand a gentle and assuring squeeze. 

“So, are we going to study or not?” Asher asks clearing his throat as he changes the subject from himself after he sends her a small smile of thanks for believing in him.

“Yeah I guess we should since that was our agreement.” Vanessa says pulling her hand away from his before she unzips her backpack to get out her physics book. 

For now she decided that she would let the topic go about how she could see who he really was even when he couldn't.

But only for the time being so that they could get some actually studying done. 

***

Their drive back to her house is filled with conversations about nothing really but he finds it so easy just to talk to her without having to put on a mask.

Asher finds himself laughing at something she said as he follows her instruction to turn down an unfamiliar street that isn't all too far from his own house.

“My house is the brick one on the left.” Vanessa tells him pointing toward her and her mom's new house that she hated with a passion when they first moved in but as she looks toward her friend she is thinking that maybe this move was good idea after all. 

“Nice.” He compliments as the brick house in front of them reminds him of the house that he grew up in after pulling along the curb since her mom's, his coach's, car is now in the driveway. “Thanks for today I needed it.” He tells her because it had been nice to get away from his normal scene even though it was only for a little while.

“What are friends for anyway?” She exclaims with a slight shrug.

“Right.” He agrees with a nod. “I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier.” He apologizes wishing that he could stop hurting the people around him.

“It's okay. My skin is thicker than that.” She explains honestly because she wasn't going to stop reminding him of the person she saw him to be until he was able to see it too. “And thank you for making this transition to Beverly easier for me.” She says remembering how relieved she had been to see a familiar face in the hallway even though the aftermath of it all was nothing like she had planned to happen.

“What do you mean?” He asks generally surprised that she is thanking him for anything.

“I don't regret meeting you this summer.” She tells him as she sends him a pointed look.

“I don’t regret meeting you either.” He affirms with a hesitant nod because honestly he doesn't it's just the fallout of everything that followed is what he does regret.

“But…” She wonders picking up on how uncertain his tone was. 

“I don’t want to bring you down with me if I fuck up again. And it’s not _if_ I do it’s _when_.” There it is his fear in all of this being of hurting someone else he cares about.  


“Asher…” She starts to say before trailing off at the pleading look he sends her. 

“Vanessa look I am grateful that you have encouraged me to be myself. But I will not drag someone else through the mud with me.” He states in a desperate tone because there was no way in hell that he was going to make the sane mistake again.   
“

Well, I thought you would know me better by now Asher. Since I don't give up so easily on my friends.” She explains with a determined look spreading across her features.

“Why are you so hell-bent on saving me?” He asks not understanding why she is so worried about him when he doesn't feel like he is worth it after everything he's done.

“I’m not hell-bent on saving you. But I am hell-bent on you saving yourself.” She tells him softening her gaze when she sees him swallow thickly.

“I’m trying to do that.” He admits his voice coming out strained from the emotion rising in his throat.

“You’re worth doing so.” She exclaims patting him lightly on the shoulder before she grabs her bag put of the floorboard by her feet before she opens the car door.

“Right. So, I will see you tomorrow Montes.” Asher tells her after she gets out of the car. 

“See you tomorrow Adams.” Vanessa says with a smile before she shuts his car door. 

Asher waits until she makes it to her front door waving back at her when she turns back toward him before she disappears inside her house and he pulls away form the curb with a hopeful feeling that this is one friendship that he won't mess up like all his other ones.

Because he is helping her to find her place at Beverly.

And she is helping him recognize that he still has some good left inside of him.

A unspoken promise made among two friends. 

**Author's Note:**

> So, I would love to know what y'all thought about this story that I hope that you have enjoyed reading! <3
> 
> If you did enjoy this story, then please leave me a comment with your thoughts and/or a kudos!
> 
> Your guy's comments and kudos make my day and make me smile! 💛
> 
> P.S. Would y'all be interested in reading more Asher & Vanessa stories as the storylines develop on the show?


End file.
